Sharing ideas on technologies and life

Product Management: 5/5

Product management is all about compromise: finances, roadmap, R&D, design, technical debt, customers request … You cannot have it all, and even if you do it will not last. So, you better stay on guard

Tools and methodologies are two different concepts: Agile is not about just using a scrum tool or having standup meetings

Best team management is the horizontal one. Of course, it doesn’t always apply (keep it real). You still can use a bottom-up approach though: let the people decide how they like to work. At least, you’re sure they will give it their 100%. Keep it real though 😉

When it’s too hard to decide, it means that you have a risk management situation. It’s always a good practice to focus on the business value. So, for each feature, you need to identify it first. For instance, what I learned from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, is that you don’t mix the launch of a flagship product with technical/financial experimentation. Samsung had succeeded this kind of exercise with the use of exynos instead of Qualcom chips but somehow forgot about the basics. Bottom line, people were expecting a kick-ass smartphone, not a kick-ass smartphone with home-made batteries.

Long-term planning is rarely efficient. Short-term planning is tempting but eventually lead to short-sighted decision that eventually cost more. So keep it at the middle. Technology business is evolving so fast, that you don’t have the luxury to have certainty about a 5-years plan.

Things will always go south. So instead of trying to control everything, prepare yourself for how to manage issues and damage control.

Always make room for recovering your technical debt, even a small one.

Team efficiency depends on its members involvement.

Share info. Involve others department when necessary while keeping in mind the big picture. Dare to ask for help.